*WARNING* LONG READ*
I have been keeping a hunting journal for several years where I keep track of number of deer seen, weather conditions, moon phase, rut activity, etc. I was looking through my journal today to try and decide what my best days had been in the past so that I could schedule my vacation time for this season. I ended up diving in a little deeper and found a pretty cool trend I thought I would share.
Over the past three seasons, consisting of more hours on a stand than I'm willing to admit, there were six days on the stand that stood out above the rest for me.
Oct/29/2014
8:35 a.m., overcast, 56°, Northeast wind 5mph, pressure 30.17 rising. I shot this buck at around 8:30 a.m. coming to a scrape. It was the first time the wind had switched to the North after four straight days of a South wind.
Nov/19/2014
4:55 p.m., clear, 62°, South wind 3mph, pressure 30.19 steady. On this day the barometer fell all day from 30.4 until it leveled out at 30.19. It was the first day of South wind after a week of North wind and cold temperatures. Highs for the week prior were in the low 40's, with lows in the high 20's. On the afternoon when I shot this buck the temp had risen to 62°
Oct/26/2015
8:35 a.m., overcast, 57°, North wind 10 mph, pressure 29.95 rising. A hunt I will never forget. I did not kill a buck but did video several mature bucks throughout the morning. This day was the first North wind after five straight days of South wind.
Nov/21/2015
5:15 p.m., overcast, 48°, North wind 10mph, pressure 30.25 rising. I watched an old stocky eight point guard a doe in an oat patch for most of the afternoon. There were two days of Southeast wind prior to this day. On this afternoon the wind was gusting up to 25mph out of the North
Dec/4/2015
4:55 p.m., clear, 52°, North wind 5mph, pressure 30.43 rising. I killed my best buck on this day just before last light coming in to check does in a large oat patch. This day had the highest barometric pressure of any day of the 2015 season. It topped out at 30.54 later on that night. This afternoon there was a shift in the wind from North to East after eight straight days of North wind.
Nov/5/2016
5:35 p.m., overcast, 63°, Northwest wind 5mph, pressure 30.22 rising. I rattled this buck in an hour before sunset. He was up on his feet cruising for does. The wind had switched to a North wind the evening before after 7 days of a South wind.
After several days of wind from one direction, the day, and the day after the wind switches directions is when I had encounters with mature bucks. I ha e several other less impressive but mature bucks in my journal that fell into this pattern too. I know I'm over analysing but just thought it was a really cool pattern.
I have been keeping a hunting journal for several years where I keep track of number of deer seen, weather conditions, moon phase, rut activity, etc. I was looking through my journal today to try and decide what my best days had been in the past so that I could schedule my vacation time for this season. I ended up diving in a little deeper and found a pretty cool trend I thought I would share.
Over the past three seasons, consisting of more hours on a stand than I'm willing to admit, there were six days on the stand that stood out above the rest for me.
Oct/29/2014
8:35 a.m., overcast, 56°, Northeast wind 5mph, pressure 30.17 rising. I shot this buck at around 8:30 a.m. coming to a scrape. It was the first time the wind had switched to the North after four straight days of a South wind.
Nov/19/2014
4:55 p.m., clear, 62°, South wind 3mph, pressure 30.19 steady. On this day the barometer fell all day from 30.4 until it leveled out at 30.19. It was the first day of South wind after a week of North wind and cold temperatures. Highs for the week prior were in the low 40's, with lows in the high 20's. On the afternoon when I shot this buck the temp had risen to 62°
Oct/26/2015
8:35 a.m., overcast, 57°, North wind 10 mph, pressure 29.95 rising. A hunt I will never forget. I did not kill a buck but did video several mature bucks throughout the morning. This day was the first North wind after five straight days of South wind.
Nov/21/2015
5:15 p.m., overcast, 48°, North wind 10mph, pressure 30.25 rising. I watched an old stocky eight point guard a doe in an oat patch for most of the afternoon. There were two days of Southeast wind prior to this day. On this afternoon the wind was gusting up to 25mph out of the North
Dec/4/2015
4:55 p.m., clear, 52°, North wind 5mph, pressure 30.43 rising. I killed my best buck on this day just before last light coming in to check does in a large oat patch. This day had the highest barometric pressure of any day of the 2015 season. It topped out at 30.54 later on that night. This afternoon there was a shift in the wind from North to East after eight straight days of North wind.
Nov/5/2016
5:35 p.m., overcast, 63°, Northwest wind 5mph, pressure 30.22 rising. I rattled this buck in an hour before sunset. He was up on his feet cruising for does. The wind had switched to a North wind the evening before after 7 days of a South wind.
After several days of wind from one direction, the day, and the day after the wind switches directions is when I had encounters with mature bucks. I ha e several other less impressive but mature bucks in my journal that fell into this pattern too. I know I'm over analysing but just thought it was a really cool pattern.
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